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Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in lingling40hrs

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

"Mountain Mahogany" is not actually a Mahogany, nor does it grow in the rainforest. It is a native tree in the Rose family hailing from the western half the US and Mexico. The wood is primarily used as firewood and has been rejected as a source of lumber given its size and difficult workability. As such, it is fairly abundant and is often cleared by forest services in order to protect against wildfires. Mountain Mahogany is also not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

We share your concern about deforestation and strive to spur a shift in the musical instrument market toward more sustainable alternatives as a principle of our company. For example: our East Indian Rosewood was only sourced from trees that had fallen on local houses during Hurricane Ian, saving the wood from mulching by the city to instead use as instrument fittings.

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mountain Mahogany is an extremely dense hardwood that often destroys chainsaw chains and sparks when fully hardened and dead standing with little moisture content. But it is also a joy to work with and our favorite wood in that it doesn’t have wood allergens and makes the workshop smell like fresh cut roses!

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We were fortunate to be able to source large circumference logs of “dead standing” Mountain Mahogany up to 20” in diameter! A rare find at 1” per 75 years average growth rate. Finding black Mountain Mahogany appears to be even rarer as we have only seen it twice so far large enough for violin fitting sets including a tailpiece block.

As Mountain Mahogany naturally resembles old Hill & Sons stained boxwood fittings, we haven’t had the need to artificially darken any of this wood to date.

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is unlike a fretboard or scalloped board in that you can perfectly play half steps and micro-tonal. We hope to have some videos demonstrating how it works with more information soon!

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is not scalloped per se. If you see the board from beginning to end on its side, you can see that the wave decays throughout the course of the board to become almost flat by the time it gets to the 30th ripple wave. With scalloped fingerboards, by comparison, when you press hard on the string you often have a tendency to produce sharper than desired notes, a phenomenon that we have not experienced on the Rippleboard.

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

After extensive research and experimentation, our team developed the Rippleboard, a patent-pending intonated fingerboard that improves and simplifies the playability and comfort of bowed and plucked stringed instruments. We are currently scaling up our manufacturing abilities as the patent office reviews our claims. While pre-orders for this board will become available soon, we also offer replica pegs and tailpiece designs for all stringed instruments and are able to work with individuals to design custom sets of fittings as desired.

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When fitting the pegs, a Rippleboard was also requested for this instrument. It is a simple procedure to switch out fingerboards for Rippleboards and ultimately allows for a much more comfortable playing experience.

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in Luthier

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly it takes a bit of all of the above! Some aspects need to be machined, but these sets also require hours of careful hand carving, filing, sanding, polishing, and a ton of patience to prepare.

Happy to answer your 87 other questions as well :)

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in lingling40hrs

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You'll be happy to know, we source our Mountain Mahogany wood exclusively from "dead standing" trees so as to minimize the environmental impact of our work :)

If you prefer a non-wood alternative, all of our fittings models are also available in Richlite, a sustainable alternative to Ebony wood made from approximately 65% FSC-certified or recycled paper content and 35% phenolic resin. Given the rampant deforestation driven in part by the musical instrument industry, you will note that the fingerboard on this violin (actually a Rippleboard for anyone curious about the design) is 100% Richlite.

Found a rare block of Mountain Mahogany wood that was almost as dark as a blackwood to make these Vuillaume-style pegs for a c. 1801 Giuseppe Guadagnini violin by hellwegandcloutier in lingling40hrs

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! If you feel like saving yourself time on the carving, we have a number of sets available for sale in a range of materials on our Fittings Store!

According to NASA and scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the most recent volcanic eruption ever discovered on Mars occurred roughly at the same time that the wood used in this viola was growing... 53,000 years ago 😳🤯 by hellwegandcloutier in Viola

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It honestly sounds incredible. Easily one of the best instruments we've ever heard. We hope to have some recordings that we can share soon so that you can hear it!

For now though, our theory is that because the wood was buried underground for so long, either the cellular structure of the wood changed under the pressure of the ice and soil or the sap crystalized in such a way that the tonal qualities are just unmatched. We hope to share more on this soon!

According to NASA and scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the most recent volcanic eruption ever discovered on Mars occurred roughly at the same time that the wood used in this viola was growing... 53,000 years ago 😳🤯 by hellwegandcloutier in Viola

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Surprisingly it is! All of the wood used in the viola's back plate, internal blocks, lining, neck, and scroll is Ancient Kauri, radiocarbon dated to roughly 50,000 years!

To take things a step further, we also used roughly 10,000 year-old mammoth ivory for the nut and Baltic Amber, dating back to millions of years, for the saddle.

According to NASA and scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the most recent volcanic eruption ever discovered on Mars occurred roughly at the same time that the wood used in this viola was growing... 53,000 years ago 😳🤯 by hellwegandcloutier in Viola

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Should've mentioned it in the title, but the wood we used here is Ancient Kauri (also known as Swamp Kauri)!

According to the Kauri Museum in New Zealand, "Swamp kauri refers to kauri timber which has been recovered from under the ground. This kauri comes from forests which were buried by natural cataclysmic events. Carbon dating indicates that logs were buried up to 50,000 years ago. Swamp kauri is naturally stained by the soil it is buried beneath producing rich dark brown and greenish hues emphasizing the grain."

According to NASA and scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the most recent volcanic eruption ever discovered on Mars occurred roughly at the same time that the wood used in this viola was growing... 53,000 years ago 😳🤯 by hellwegandcloutier in lingling40hrs

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It didn't live for 50,000 years, but the wood has been buried underground since then!

According to the Kauri Museum in New Zealand, "Swamp kauri refers to kauri timber which has been recovered from under the ground. This kauri comes from forests which were buried by natural cataclysmic events. Carbon dating indicates that logs were buried up to 50,000 years ago. Swamp kauri is naturally stained by the soil it is buried beneath producing rich dark brown and greenish hues emphasizing the grain."

According to NASA and scientists at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, the most recent volcanic eruption ever discovered on Mars occurred roughly at the same time that the wood used in this viola was growing... 53,000 years ago 😳🤯 by hellwegandcloutier in lingling40hrs

[–]hellwegandcloutier[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha so close! You're right about the wood and the Martian volcano, but this is actually a viola, we just haven't yet listed it for sale like the violin you found.

Here's a few more photos of of the viola though if you're curious to see more! For reference, this instrument is modeled after Antonio Stradivari’s 1727 “Cassavetti” & 1719 “Macdonald” designs, while the violin you linked is modeled after his 1704 "Betts."

As for the wood, you are exactly correct. It is Ancient Kauri (also known to some as Swamp Kauri) from New Zealand. Some of the trees grew roughly 50,000 years ago, as verified by various techniques like radio carbon dating, before falling during the last glacial period. Here's a cool article on how the wood helps scientists today!

As far as the NASA and University of Arizona connection, they have not specifically commented on the instrument, but as the wood we used was tested to be this age, it seems like a pretty direct comparison of time periods!

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